Two brothers who ran a lucrative marijuana business in the East Bay -- buying Mercedes Benzes and real estate, but also paying state taxes and following local regulations -- have pleaded guilty to federal charges, ending their five-year legal fight with the government.

Winslow Lazer Norton of Emeryville and Abraham Volstein Norton of Walnut Creek agreed to a sentence of six months in jail and six months on home detention. They also agreed to forfeit some $600,000 in revenues.

Sentencing is set for August, but Winslow, 32, has already started serving his time. Last month, the federal government revoked his bail after a traffic stop in San Rafael revealed 2 pounds of marijuana in his car.

The California Highway Patrol initially pulled him over because he was talking on his cellphone. April was "Distracted Drivers Awareness Month."

The Nortons have been litigating against the federal government since 2007, when they were indicted on charges of drug distribution, money laundering and conspiracy.

Federal authorities said the brothers' Hayward-based business -- the Compassionate Collective of Alameda County, or the Compassionate Patients' Cooperative -- was a large-scale trafficking and money-laundering operation.

Authorities said the operation's revenues shot from $74,000 in 2004 to $21.5 million in 2006 and $26.3 million in the first half of 2007. Investigators seized several hundred pounds of marijuana, $200,000 in cash, bank accounts, IRAs, real estate and two Mercedes Benzes.

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The federal government also confiscated about $600,000 the brothers said was intended for state tax payments. Now the state Board of Equalization lists the brothers on its roster of the top 500 sales- and use-tax delinquents. The board's website reports balances of more than $1 million for the brothers and $1 million for the Compassionate Patients' Cooperative.

The Nortons' lawyers described them as pioneers who were trying to find a legitimate marijuana business model in a society showing increasing tolerance for marijuana legalization.

The brothers had a potentially strong hand to play early in the case, their lawyers said. When Alameda County supervisors were considering whether to allow three pot dispensaries about a decade ago, Sheriff Charles Plummer was on record assuring the audience that federal authorities would not interfere as long as the operators followed state and local regulations, defense attorneys said.

Based on that assurance, the Nortons got one of the permits. But after their indictment, a federal judge ruled they could not use the sheriff's statements as defense evidence for the jury, said Doron Weinberg, Winslow's lawyer.

On April 19, the brothers finally threw in the towel and took a plea offer, admitting to conspiracy and money laundering. In addition to the ruinous legal expenses, they were facing a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison if they lost at trial, and possibly 10 years or more.

"They shouldn't have to spend a minute in custody," Weinberg said. "As a lawyer, you get the best result you can."

The brothers honestly believed they were doing a good thing in their work, said Abraham's lawyer, Stuart Hanlon.

"They were helping people," he said. "They were following the law as they were told."

Two other co-defendants -- the Nortons' father, Michael, and a facility manager, Brian Everett -- pleaded guilty to using a telephone for a drug crime. They will be placed on probation.

The four defendants will be sentenced Aug. 8 by U.S. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen in San Jose.

The Marin County District Attorney's Office has not filed charges related to the traffic stop in San Rafael. In addition to the 2 pounds of marijuana, Winslow Norton had about $15,000 in cash, the CHP said.